Blind spots are areas around the vehicle which sit outside of the driver's field of view, that is they are not within the driver's direct view. In particular, larger vehicles, such as trucks and buses, have substantial blind spots which make manoeuvring the vehicle both difficult and dangerous. For example, manoeuvers such as reversing, turning and changing lanes are highly dangerous because the driver's field of view to the side and the rear of the truck is limited.
Areas around the truck which cannot be directly observed by the driver must be viewed indirectly and many large vehicles are now legally required to have both wide angle and close proximity side mirrors fitted which expand the driver's field of vision around the vehicle. Close proximity mirrors help to make nearside turns, such as at roundabouts and junctions, less hazardous.
Even with such mirrors fitted however, blind spots are not completely eradicated, and unfortunately they can still exist at the sides of the truck, particularly next to the near-side wheel, and also behind the truck.
One solution to minimise blind spots is to mount camera-systems using external cameras connected to monitors within the vehicle. In particular this may be advantageous for larger vehicles, such as at the sides and the rear of a truck. Revised legislation is now being introduced which will allow camera-monitors to be used in place of or in addition to conventional mirrors. Some camera-systems may also provide the benefit of having smaller external features compared to conventional mirrors. Advantageously, this can can help to reduce, for example, the drag experienced by the vehicle or noise generated when the camera-systems are used in place of the conventional mirrors.
By way of example, to cover the blind spot at the rear of a truck, rear view cameras can be mounted at the back end of the vehicle and the image produced is fed to a monitor mounted within the cab of the vehicle in the direct view of the driver. This gives the driver a clear view of the rear of the truck, thus making manoeuvers such as reversing much safer.